28 October 2011 3:20 PM

At last a voice is raised against the bigotry of 'Occupy'

John Mann, the Labour MP for Bassetlaw, is also the very splendid (and non-Jewish) chairman of the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Committee against Antisemitism. He has now put down this Early Day Motion in the House of Commons (hat tip: The Commentator):

‘That this House notes the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ and ‘Occupy London Stock Exchange’ protest movements; believes the right to protest is an essential tenet of democracy; further notes concerns have been raised in America about the anti-Semitic nature of some of those protests; further believes signs referring to ‘Hitler's Bankers’ and ‘Google Jewish Billionaires’ are offensive and have no place at such protests; further believes the verbal or physical abuse of Jews by demonstrators is unacceptable; and calls on leaders of the Occupy demonstrations worldwide to condemn anti-Semitism and act to stamp it out whenever it occurs.’

Needless to say, although web-based journalists and bloggers have been noting the Jew-hatred coursing through the ‘Occupy’ movement – as in this piece on FrontPageMag.com by Jeff Shapiro – this aspect has gone all but unremarked in the mainstream media, and has not prevented politicians and journalists on the left from puffing ‘Occupy’ in admiring and respectful terms. Of course – Jew-hatred is now the prejudice that dare not speak its name; and the western left is riddled with it. Which is one thing its cadres have in common, of course, with the Islamists.

Linking Jews and capitalism in a seamless robe of hatred has long been firmly embedded in left-wing thinking. There is, however, a set of values on the left which truly despises such bigotry and racial hatred. That’s the ‘old left’ tradition which is still firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian morality, and which thus distinguishes correctly between right and wrong, truth and lies, justice and injustice.

As such, it stands stoutly against the defining madness of the world. John Mann is firmly in that decent tradition. Thank goodness people like him still exist.

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Hazlitt
'Risible smears', eh? Two essays were published in the C19th, one by a National Socialist, the other by the most famous international revolutionary of all time. One essay is called 'On the Jews in Music', the other, 'On the Jewish Question'. The first of these dealt with the supposed sterility of 'Jewish forms' in music, and was of limited interest to the general public. The second was far more powerful, and of much wider potential interest. For it dealt with a question dear to everyone's heart:
Money, which, according to the writer, was the 'Dirty Jewish God'.

The 'music' essay was by Richard Wagner, the 'money' essay by Karl Marx. Since then, leftists have traditionally agreed with their National Socialist colleagues in denouncing the 'speculators', 'moneylenders' and 'plutocrats'.

The recent organised hysteria (it can hardly be called rational criticism) against Israel backs the Arab side uncritically, failing utterly to draw attention to the bond between Palestinian leaders and Hitler during World War Two. And in more recent times Chris Patten was once forced to suspend EU money for textbooks in Palestinian schools. For they claimed Jews are descended from pigs and apes.

And there is, of course much more. But what exactly is 'risible' about any of this?

Unfortunately, the particular racial hatred towards the Jews is everywhere these days, as is normal when other things like finances go wrong. It happened in Berlin and it is happening here. People always find a scapegoat to blame the worlds troubles on and it has been the Jews for thousands of years. People are just too wrapped up in their own sense of powerlessness and and anger to see what they are doing.
Very sad.

Anyone can walk in off the street to join one of these protests including the occasional nutter. It prove the "bigotry of the Occupy movement" but that the right wing media will stoop to any depths to discredit it..

"Linking Jews and capitalism in a seamless robe of hatred has long been firmly embedded in left-wing thinking." - "Linking" two things in a "robe" without links or "seams" and embedding the robe in "thinking". I was always taught that muddled writing was a sure sign of muddled thinking. And this is someone who earns a living writing her thoughts.

Oh Mel, Mel, Mel. Where to start? One mad person holding up an anti-Semitic sign does not make the whole movement thus.
And then you go off on one - "and the western left is riddled with it" - you are like a child with a hammer - everything looks like a nail
I particularly enjoyed your line about "unremarked in the mainstream media". So just here in The Daily Mail then - how more mainstream do you want to get?

And here is yet more rigmarole: "There is, however, a set of values on the left which truly despises such bigotry and racial hatred. That’s the ‘old left’ tradition which is still firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian morality, and which thus distinguishes correctly between right and wrong, truth and lies, justice and injustice." "Judeo-Christian morality" - would that not be the "morality" that allowed the most dyed-in-the-wool anti-Semites of the last two millenia to feel righteous against the "killers of Christ"? "And thus distinguishes correctly..." It ought to be obvious that "Judeo-Christians" (whoever they might be) have no monopoly in the understanding of right and wrong, truth and lies etc. The "thus" has not been earned - indeed if Judeo-Christian morality was used to justify anti-Semitism, as it was, there is no "thus" about it. And there is in any event nothing said here that justifies the assertion that anti-Semitic bigotry is characteristic of the protest movement. So why these broadbrush smears? Self-respect surely requires a higher calibre of argument?

First, any such anti-Semitism should be condemned. Secondly, "Linking Jews and capitalism in a seamless robe of hatred has long been firmly embedded in left-wing thinking" is utter drivel. Why resort to such risible smears?

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